As we enjoy our holiday tournament, it is important to reflect on the meaning of Memorial Day. The men and women who served in our armed forces helped create and preserve the freedoms that we all enjoy. The players, coaches, parents and friends who take part in our tournament are encouraged to join us in recognizing the sacrifices made by our veterans.
For those wishing to attend, The Danvers Memorial Day parade begins at 9:00 a.m. at Danvers Town Hall, and will take a one-hour route through Danvers Square to the Holten Richmond Middle School and back. There are memorial ceremonies at the School and Town Hall. Please consider attending the parade. We will also observe a moment of silence in honor of our deceased veterans prior to each consolation and final game on Monday.

NOSTALGIC THOUGHTS FROM BOB TRUDEAU

I know the "old-timers" will remember I've told this story before, but for the newer members, I want to repeat it. The seed for the tournament was planted on a cold December night in December, 1991 as two crazy Danvers soccer parents were driving down the Mass Pike to take their U-10 daughters to an indoor game at the JohnSmithSportsCenter in Milford (there was no local U-10 indoor soccer available in 1991). The driver, who was relatively new to youth soccer, remarked how much he enjoyed taking his daughter to tournaments and wanted to know why Danvers, an obvious "soccer town", didn't have a tournament of its own? The passenger, a member of DYS for a number of years, explained that DYS had tried to run a tournament in the early 80's, a very small tournament of 8 - 12 teams, but it would die after two years due to the lack of volunteers. (In fact, the tournament in the early 80's had been the first introduction of the passenger to working in DYS). The driver remarked that it was shame that DYS couldn't revive the tournament. That it was his dream that Danvers could build a tournament that could draw teams from all over New England and beyond. The passenger replied that it would require an outstanding organization and a very dedicated group of volunteers to make that dream come true. The driver that night was Bernie Zenus. I was the passenger and little did I know that the conversation would lead to the Danvers Invitational. In January, 1992, Bernie proposed the tournament to the DYS Board and offered to organize and run the tournament. We had 22 teams that year- all U-10. The next year, the tournament was expanded to U-12 and U-14 and 88 teams showed up. Bernie has been away for a few years, but visited the tournament on Sunday this year and we had a long talk. He could not believe we had 182 teams in the tournament. He was almost speechless. I think he was overwhelmed by what he has started and what he observed on Sunday. So, to the 2013 DIT Committee, the tournament chairpersons commend you! The DREAM is now REALITY! Many thanks to all of you for making it happen.